Okay, before we go on with the chapter, I just want to remind everyone that there's a Battleship competition being hosted on Hypable right now, where the favourite couple out of RoseXDimitri and BellaXEdward is being voted for. If we want our badass couple to win, we'll all have to vote to kick the opposition's sparkly asses. No way can R&D lose to those twinkletoes! The link is (take out the spaces and pretend the commas are dots, kay? :P) www,hypable,com/2013/08/30hypables-battleships-boo ks-the-final-battle/
The poll will end really soon, so if you want to vote, go do it now! If Rose and Dimitri win, I'll post the next chapter TOMORROW :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy
RPOV
Once the rest of the girls were out of the car, I pushed a couple of random suitcases out after them that I had managed to haul out of the boot and into the car, over the back seats. I climbed out after them, once again using the handstand technique, and stayed with the cases whilst Sydney and Mia went off to the toilets and the shop.
We switched, and when Lissa and I got back to the car, we opened the cases, intending to change the clothes we had been wearing for over 24 hours.
You can imagine our surprise when the cases we expected to be filled with comfy travelling clothes were filled entirely with lingerie and condoms. We stood looking at the case with wide eyes, and a couple of guys passed us on the way back to their truck.
"Hey, you want some help making use of them?" One of the idiots called.
I jumped up to attack them, but Lissa pulled me back. Instead, I just shouted over to them; "Actually, the condoms belong to my boyfriend, and somehow I think XL will be a little too big to fit your chodes."
The guys shuffled off, and the girls giggled. I winked, before turning back to the disaster in front of us. I had a feeling I knew whose idea this was. I threw a packet at Sydney, and asked; "Do you recognise these? The underwear was definitely Adrian, who else could afford it, but I want to know if anyone else was involved."
Sydney was blushing like crazy. "I'm not sure." She said. Of course not. I looked at Lissa.
"No, they're not Christian's." I nodded, then looked to Mia.
"Yeah, these could be Eddie's." She said. Everyone turned to me.
"What, you honestly think that these are Dimitri's? Mr. Blush at the mention of sex?" They laughed. "Two Dhampirs, remember? No need for them." I said, throwing one back into the case. "Anyway, these would be way too small."
Sydney choked on her coffee, and Lissa patted her back to help her to breathe again, whilst Mia howled with laughter. "So the big guy's a 'big guy', then!" she said, and I started to laugh.
"Well, duh. Have you seen the size of his hands? I wasn't kidding when I was talking to those jerks."
Everyone laughed this time, before falling silent and surveying the lingerie again.
"Well, I have an idea. Adrian put this in here thinking that we would get pissed off and stays in our old clothes, otherwise he wouldn't have bought Sydney this." I said, lifting out a white and gold bra set.
They all looked at me, confused. "Well come on, does he really want his girlfriend driving down the road in just this and... " I rummaged through the case until I found a lacy nightie. It seemed he had gone for the full set. "...This? Where anyone could see her? I think not. So, I say we call his bluff." Mia caught my drift and smiled evilly, before digging into the case and pulling out a royal blue chiffon one-piece in her size.
Understanding dawned on Lissa and Sydney's faces. They looked apprehensive for a moment, Sydney considerably more so, before looking at Mia and I, then back at the case. They came to a decision, and started pulling apart the pile of underwear searching for something to change into, and I did the same.
10 minutes later we walked out of the bathrooms, our hoodies pulled down as close as they would go to our knees. Once we were back in the car, we let go, leaving our bare legs on show. Lissa had managed to find a purple 2 piece, and was wearing a long chiffon jacket thing over the top. Sydney was wearing the most modest thing she had been able to find- a white tank-top two piece with a little frilly skirt. I had on a red corset one-piece that was a size too small, obviously having been bought with one of the other girls in mind. I just hoped we didn't get pulled over by another cop.
Mia stroked the cream lace of the strap of her new bra appreciatively.
"I gotta say, Sydney. Your boyfriend has good taste. There must have been $1000 new-line Victoria's Secret in there."
And we had taken all of the tags off, just in case Adrian had any ideas about taking it back to the shop. Tough luck, these were ours now.
We chatted happily for 3 hours, listening to music and laughing, until the SatNav informed me that we had 100 miles left to go. I decided to check in on the guys.
DPOV
We were stuck in traffic. It had been 3 hours since everyone had woken up and I was on my 3rd coffee.
"Slow down the caffeine consumption, Belikov. You'll turn into Sydney in a minute." Adrian quipped.
I was tired, and cranky. He should have known better than to irritate me after 40 minutes in a queue and having only moved 2 miles.
"What, are you going to try and get it on with me like you did to Christian earlier?" I shot back. Eddie laughed, and Christian congratulated me on the comeback.
"Being around Rose so much is definitely rubbing off on you, Dimitri. But somehow, it's less annoying on you. Keep it up." He said.
Another mile down the road, we passed the scene of the accident that had slowed us down. It didn't look too bad, but as we passed I couldn't help but think of Roza, aged 13, dying in an accident so much worse than this one. I forgot, sometimes, that she had actually died, twice. What with not being Shadow Kissed any more, it was easy to forget.
I couldn't imagine a world without her in it, couldn't see the point of that world. Mine revolved around her.
RPOV
Nothing much interesting was going on with our significant others, so we got bored and zoned out. What we had been able to piece together was that they had been a little ways ahead of us, but had been stuck in traffic for nearly an hour, so we were now ahead of them. From eavesdropping, I had been able to bypass the problem, and we were less than an hour away from the campground now.
I suggested we have pre-victory sing-along, to get in the spirit of the campfire and keep me awake.
Whatever the other girls had planned for tonight when they (probably) saw their boyfriends again, but my fantasy right now involved curling up in Dimitri's arms and falling into a dark, blissful sleep.
DPOV
We had finally cleared the traffic, and I pushing the speed limit just a little bit. Adrian was getting antsy.
"Dude, slow down. We'll never get there if you kill us all!"
Eddie sighed. "The speed limits are what is safe for humans to drive at. We have faster reflexes, better eyesight and more control. We'll be fine."
Christian added, "Plus, you're in the safest place in the car, like where Lissa was sat that time. If we die, you can just bring us back like she did."
Adrian smirked. "It seems like you have a burning desire to be inside my mind, now why would that be? To understand my fabulous wit, my charm with the ladies and just my general magnetism."
Christian scoffed. "I'd hate to be inside your mind. It would be too dirty and cramped, pea-brain."
Just then, I saw a sign to the small town near Ann Arbour that was closest to Peaceful Pines campsite.
Memories stirred inside me, and I recalled driving here with Roza. We passed the 24-hour supermarket, and I smiled as I remembered her reactions to the things I had bought; her repulsion to the tent, her happiness that I had remembered her favourite snacks, annoyance to how I hadn't bought any clothes, before teasing me about my duster.
It surprised me that she actually wanted to come camping now. I guess it was because this is a better time of year, all her friends were here, and we didn't have to sleep in the same tent as each other whilst trying to deny our feelings for each other.
I hadn't told her this yet, but that night when I woke up in her arms, I had been dreaming of her. Not that I didn't nearly every night, but this had been slightly different. It had been about when Lissa restored me, and instead of pushing her away, I had run unto her arms...
I opened my eyes, and felt. I was sore, I was tired, and felt a great sadness deep within me. I saw Lissa's face hovering over mine, and I remembered. The hate, the venom, the desire to kill her-but it was all gone now. Feeling washed over me- guilt, sadness, regret, pain, anger, and it felt as though I might drown. I looked at my hands and knew what had happened, that I had somehow been changed back. I felt tears come to my eyes, the first time in many years. I thought that I would break under the pressure of these emotions that had been kept from me for so long. Lissa's face disappeared from my sight, and I closed my eyes again, battling against the tide that threatened to drown me.
"Dimitri?" My eyes snapped open again, and I lifted my head. In front of me stood an angel. I forced myself onto my knees, and then slowly stood up. Roza stood in front of me, a few steps away. She was biting her lip, a rare sign of nervousness for her. I felt disgusted with myself that I had brought her to this, that she was actually afraid and repulsed by me. I looked at the ground, but in the same way had never been able to look away from her for too long, I looked back into her eyes. What I saw there made my newly beating heart beat faster. She was not scared of me, but for me.
"Roza?" I asked, uncertain, taking a step forward. After a second's pause, she flew at me, and I wrapped my arms around her waist as hers fastened around my neck.
"Dimitri." She breathed. As the old electricity coursed between us my knees buckled, and she helped me to the ground. She knelt next to me whilst I rested my head against her shoulder and cried. She rubbed my back soothingly and whispered softy to me. When my sobs had subsided, I pulled back and straightened up, so I was kneeling in front of her.
"Thank you, Roza. And you, Princess." I said, looking away from Roza for just a second. I turned back, and raised a hand to Roza's face, staring in wonder at the tanned skin next to hers.
"You should have killed me on that bridge, Roza. I wanted you to kill me. Just after you staked me, I was me again, just for a moment, and I tried to tell you that I loved you, but then I fell..." I used my thumb to wipe away a tear that was slipping down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Roza. But I'm here now and I swear I'll never leave you again. I know I broke my promise, but I love you so much, please forgive me." I begged. She gave me a watery smile.
"Of course I forgive you, Dimitri. I love you so much. You didn't break your promise. You swore you would never let anything hurt me, and you didn't. Even as a Strigoi you never physically hurt me. I broke my promise to keep you safe when I left you in the cave. My mom and Alberta held me back, but I should have tried harder to save you."
"You did save me." I whispered, and kissed her, just before waking up.
"Uh, Dimitri? You in there?" Eddie asked, pulling me out of my daydream.
"Yeah, sorry. What is it?"
"How long until we get there?"
I looked around; trying to remember where we were from the last time I had been here.
"About 10 minutes, I think. Get your stuff together; we want to look as settled as possible for when the girls arrive." I instructed, and the others started shoving things into their backpacks and putting rubbish into discarded coffee cups. Not long now...
I really wanted to write a restoration alternative, but it was too short to be a story of its own, so I thought I'd put it in here, and it kind of works :)
Remember, vote for Rose and Dimitri and if they win I'll update tomorrow :) Peace out!
Review and Dimitri will daydream about you ;)